Customer Reviews

Cuba: A New History (Yale Nota Bene)

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-- of those one-star reviews. They have their own biases and axes to grind, as they link you to rightwing websites full of lies and distortions of their own. These folks want to squelch and slander anyone with a differing point of view, especially regarding Cuba. When talking about "agents of influence," it is pertinent to remember these "reviewers" are likely themselves members of organizations sent here to trash this book.

Mr. Gott is a well-respected journalist on Latin American affairs, one who has been avowedly sympathetic to the Left, armed struggle, and the Cuban Revolution. However one may agree or not with his views, they are necessary to read if one would wish a well-rounded education on Cuba. Beware anyone who tries to suppress this book, as they are guilty of the same thing of which they accuse Fidel Castro.

For many, Cuban history started with Fidel Castro's political ascent in the 1950's. Nothing before seems relevant and sadly anything after has been a virtual black hole. Since the revolution of 1959, most writing about the island has been polarized, either ardently sympathetic or passionately hostile. But author Richard Gott, a British journalist and specialist in Latin American history, keeps a level head, guiding us from the first attempt at colonization by the Spanish in 1511 to the present day. By providing a full historical context, the author gives a much needed contextual understanding of an island only ninety miles from the Florida Keys, yet a world away in almost every other respect.

Gott dispels many convenient myths, such as the timing of the Communist influence. It didn't start with Castro but actually in 1907 with the Independent Party of Color, when socialists banded together to try to relieve themselves from the oppression they felt from U.S. occupation after the Spanish-American War. The group fomented into an embryonic Communist Party in 1925, which went unabated for years afterward. They even launched their own newspaper and promised then-revolutionary Fulgencio Batista the political support he needed to become Cuba's president during World War II. So, contrary to popular belief, Batista welcomed Communists into his government. But Batista became cruelly repressive during the 1950's, which triggered Castro to launch a failed armed attack on the Moncada fortress barracks in Santiago. It was at this time that Castro met Che Guevara, and Gott vividly describes their first meeting. The two men initially got on very well, brothers in arms. Guevara badly needed a political cause, while he gave Fidel valuable insights into other revolutionary experiments around Latin America. For those who have read and seen the recent movie version of "The Motorcycle Diaries", Guevara's sociopolitical evolution now becomes clear from Gott's account. As we all know, Castro and Guevara combined forces, which led to Batista escaping and Castro taking control in January 1959.

What is enlightening in this book is how Castro's energy inspired some of the greatest Latin American novelists of the 20th century, including Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa and Carlos Fuentes. He charmed not only Russian politicians like Nikita Khrushchev and African revolutionaries such as Ahmed Ben Bella, but also French intellectuals such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Castro had a falling out with Pablo Neruda when he implied that Castro may be taking too much credit for the revolution, and one begins to see the megalomania that induced fissures in his power base. Nonetheless, Gott is very thorough when it comes to describing Castro's acumen as a politician, especially as he faced the challenge of becoming more estranged from Guevara, who saw himself as a political visionary compelled to spread the word about the revolution globally. But Castro started seeing Guevara as a loose cannon and wanted no part of the armed struggle Guevara desired. As we know, this all ended with Guevara's assassination in Bolivia in 1967, which has been attributed at various times to the CIA and even Castro himself. Gott was actually on hand himself to identify Che's body after the murder.

The author explores Castro's perceived political softening recently, for example, his cautious attitude to the Sandinista overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua in 1979. According to Gott, Castro even suggested that the Sandinistas should establish a mixed economy and a pluralistic political system. Likely the most intriguing portions of the book focus on the continuing interest the U.S. has in usurping the power structure within Cuba. Gott handles these episodes lucidly, for instance, taking the drama out of historical watermark events like the 1962 Bay of Pigs missile crisis. Perhaps his most surprising assertion is that virtually all of the most ruthless acts of U.S. political interference and military aggression in the 20th century have been the work of Democrat rather than Republican Presidents - Wilson's deployment of marines to occupy Cuba in 1917; FDR's interventions to crush the 1933 revolution; JFK's 1961 invasion; LBJ's immigration scheme; and the Torricelli and Helms-Burton Acts under Clinton. In fact, plans have been underway since the Clinton administration to suborn the Cuban officer corps after the departure of Castro. Gott also describes the Miami power base of Cuban-Americans, who contemplate with satisfaction the recovery of properties lost long ago. But the author leaves us with the most revealing of conclusions - that he expects little change in Cuba in the years ahead even after Castro dies. Gott believes Castro has become a mere figurehead and that a post-Castro government has been in place for several years. And despite images exalted by popular culture, reintegration of Cuba into the international community may not be such a harmonious affair. This has to be the definitive book on Cuba's history and current political situation and consequently, essential reading for those who want to take a harder look at where things will evolve there.

'Cuba: A New History' is an excellent account of Cuban history up until this books publication in 2004. Gott manages to write in a completely engaging way and draws you in to the rich and diverse history of this amazing Caribbean island. This is in no way a dry and uninspiring read, but one that helps you immerse yourself in the history and developments over the years. From Spanish colonial rule, US intervention and soviet support, Cuba has managed to retain some remnant of it's own identity and this book shows this side perfectly. The first 100 pages (looking at Spanish Colonial rule and the slave trades to Cuba) were the hardest to engage with for me, but as soon as the revolution occurred and the book focused on the Castro government and all that it entails, I became hooked to this masterly text. The author doesn't seem overly biased one way or the other, although you can tell he has respect for this tiny island nation. He doesn't seem to be too sensationalist either, for example when Che Guevara dies it is noted in quite an understated way and not overly hyped to have a greater impact. Two minor flaws with this book are the tiny font which by the end had given me serious eye strain, why academic texts insist on using this size font I'll never know. And the other flaw is a distinct lack of decent photography to add to the package. There are a few pages of grey photos in the middle, but not on good quality paper, or especially relevant to the overall text, i've come to expect better from history books these days. These are minor flaws in what is a brilliant account of Cuban history which leaves you with some indication of what the future may hold as well. If Cuba interests you in the slightest, I'd seriously recommend you take a look at this book.

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Since visiting Cuba in 1997, I've always been fascinated by the place. Havana is a beautiful city, the weather is great and the people are warm and engaging. The trouble is; the economy simply doesn't work.

Richard Gott has written of the island from its first visits by the Spanish until the present day where it rests within its own time warp. Gott has done an admirable job. However, as with so many books on the subject of Cuba, it's as though its real history doesn't begin until 1959. This is the time of Castro's rise to power and it is where "Cuba: A New History" really comes to life. It is clear that Gott is very familiar with Cuba. It is clear that he has travelled there extensively and interviewed a wide cast of people. He is mildly sympathetic to Cuba treading its own path. But, by the same token, he doesn't fall for left wing jingoism. It is a very good read.

I have little doubt that many will challenge my view. To cover Cuba and not point out its many failings will be seen as a weakness. Yet, the story of Cuba is more nuanced. It has been dominated by three empires and is only now beginning a path of relative independence. This will bring change. Gott clearly understands this point. It is a point missed by his critics who all too often only focus on the many failings of Castro and little else.

I recommend this book to all those general readers seeking an understanding of this island nation and its place in the world. Richard Gott deserves credit. He has added to our knowledge of a small country that has risen above its otherwise backwater place in history.

Great seller, great book. Very interesting introspection into cuban history. Despite going light on the colonial era the book is very interesting. I might not agree with the opinion at every corner about the facts but well worth the read.

If you're looking for a fast, shallow treatment of Cuban history, written by a largely uncritical supporter of the Cuban Revolution, then look no further, you've found it.

I've read Hugh Thomas' book "Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom" (which is 1800 pages long or so, it's only flaw being that its coverage of history ends in the late 1960s). Naturally, I expected Gott's book to pick up where Thomas' book left off. And, while Gott's book does cover the revolution between 1970 and now, it does not provide any real depth or insight. Thomas' book was obviously written by a scholar who is looking to form a complete picture of Cuba's history; Gott's book, on the other hand, reads more like a newspaper article - perhaps because Gott is a journalist by training.

If you're looking to really learn about Cuba, definitely get Thomas' book. Gott's isn't TOO bad, as long as it's what you're looking for.

Very good and accurate view of Cuba. Sent several to relatives as gifts. Found it to have information that we hadn't known about the country's history.

The author covers the history of Cuba from the 15th century to the present. I had to skip about a hundred pages to get to the 20th century, but plan to go back to the earlier years. Gott is from UK, a bit of a socialist, and never misses a chance to dis the US, but the US hasn't been a good neighbor to Cuba, for sure.

The writing is smooth and readable. A good popular history. Footnotes are collected in the back of the book. Not too easy,not too densely written.

Honestly folks, really I needed to come over the pessimistic catastrophic scenarios of contemporary global events and their intrepid interpreters, so here are some books I have recently read instead on Cuban history, on its regional impact and on the Bolivàrian revolution in Venezuela, as an antidote. Despite the massive bibliography on Cuba's revolution, remarkably few books in English cover the island's story from its earliest days. This alone justifies ex-Guardian Latin American specialist Richard Gott's new work, Cuba: A New History, Yale University Press, 2004 [Yale Nota Bene paperback, 2005] 325 pages [alt. 359 incl. Notes]. Like his informative articles on Latin America over the past 40 years, this book is easy to read, comprehensive, thoroughly researched and partisan.
Hugh Thomas's 1971 book, Cuba - the inevitable comparison -starts only in 1762, with the British invasion of Havana that gave a major boost to the import of slaves and the sugar industry, and stops with the early years of the Revolution. However, Gott begins with the irruption of the Spanish adventurers in 1511, although he provides some sense of the shifting indigenous populations, Taínos, Guanahatabeyes and Siboneys, who made their way up from the mainland's Orinoco delta through the vast Caribbean archipelago in pre-Colombian times; and he brings the story of the Cuban revolution up to the present day, with an new Epilogue.
Gott is also more concerned to trace historical continuities: geographic and climatic determinants (including those `malignant forces which took the form of winds of awesome proportions' that the Taínos dubbed the huracán); piracy and corruption; social and racial strife; the pervasiveness of Africanity and the terrified white consciousness of neighbouring Haiti; all in the context of an overarching dependence on foreign empires, whether Spanish, British, American or Russian.
Born in 1783, midway between the US Declaration of Independence and the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Simón Bolívar's life and ideas were stamped--though asymmetrically--by both events. If the British could be driven out of North America by a people belonging to the same race and religion, why not the Spaniards in the South? The three hundred years of colonial rule that had followed the 1521 fall of Mexico were more than enough. And if the wisdom of the French Enlightenment had laid the foundations of the French Revolution, might it not serve the same purpose in Spanish America?
Travelling through Europe in the early 1800s, Bolívar would compare the decay and lethargy of the Madrid Court with the ferment of revolutionary Paris, albeit on the eve of Napoleon's coronation. Till the emperor's final defeat and the Restoration, Paris would remain qualitatively superior to Madrid and quantitatively ahead of Philadelphia.
And, of course, there was always sly, opportunist and expansionist London, which was not to be ignored. Despite the loss of its American colonies, it remained the hub of a strong and growing mercantilist Empire and its mastery of the seas was now unchallengeable. For that reason alone it had to be won over to the cause of South American independence and reminded of its own imperial interests in the continent.
Ever since Hector de Crèvecaeur posed the question, `What then is this American, this new man?' in 1782, North Americans have endlessly ruminated on their uniqueness. Yet they have rarely considered what they have in common with the `Other America', the sister-continent to their south. Such has been the ingrained Protestant provincialism and pietism of Anglo-American thinking that Spain's Atlantic Empire has too often been consigned to the shadows of the Black Legend, according to which the greed and depravities of the Old World were visited on the New by Iberian conquistadors and viceroys.
That same view is alive and flourishing since the national trauma of US post-9/11: the erosion of America's national identity by foreign immigration, and the undermining of its culture of Protestant individualism by Hispanic bilingualism; multiculturalism and the de-nationalization of elites and middle-class integration. `Fortress America' is today symbolized by the police-patrolled Iron Curtain erected on the US-Mexican border to exclude illegal Spanish-speaking, predominantly Catholic and poor, migrant immigrants wanting to survive after the slums and devastating slumps of their origins and share in the American Dream.

Although I found some parts of this book interesting, Mr. Gott has failed to point out the sad truth is that what
Castro has done to this island nation. He has brought equality by bringing everyone(except the party elite)to the level of medieval serfdom. I lived through the revolution, and saw personal liberty squashed into nothingness, in a system where neighbors turn you in for expressing your views criticizing the government, or having too many friends visiting you. Yes, Batista was a thug, but at least you could come and go as you pleased. I do not belong to any right wing Cuban militant groups, but only a blind man fails to see the truth.